On the surface, Rockets guard Austin Rivers, Steph Curry, and Klay Thompson have something in common.
They all have fathers who were successful NBA players. Doc Rivers played 13 seasons in the league, Dell Curry played 16 seasons and Mychal Thompson played 12 seasons.
But, in a recent interview, Rivers claims that his road to the NBA was tougher, and his time in the NBA is worse than the Splash Brothers.
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Why? Because his father is still associated with the NBA.
“Why don’t you think any other coaches have sons that play in the NBA? Any other GMs? Assistant coaches?" Austin told Marc J. Spears of The Undefeated. "Many former players had sons that played basketball. Why am I here? Why is Klay [Thompson] here? Why is someone like Steph [Curry] here? You have that level [mentally]. The way they approach their game is different. I approach mine in a different way. And I got it worse than them because my dad is still in the league coaching. I got to work. That’s the way I am. If people don’t like it, the hell with them. I’m not going to change for nobody.”
Rivers, like Curry and Thompson, was a lottery pick. But unlike the Warriors heralded duo, Rivers hasn't blossomed into the star most expected when he was drafted No. 10 overall out of Duke in 2012. In 444 career NBA games, he's started only 136 and is averaging a modest 9.3 points per game in seven seasons. Rivers has bounced around from New Orleans to the Clippers to Washington and now the Rockets (via Phoenix).
Curry is a five-time All-Star and two-time NBA MVP. Thompson is a four-time All-Star and Olympic gold medalist. Both are three-time champions with the Warriors.
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Rivers told Spears that while being Doc's son makes things harder for him, it also gives him his edge.
"That chip on the shoulder that most of these guys have, they have it because they had to get out of the mud," Rivers told Spears. "These dudes had to make it out. So how am I supposed to resonate with that when I don’t have that? The one thing I had was that I was Doc’s son. I used that as my chip on my shoulder. My swagger. My confidence."